Keynote Speaker | Trainer & Facilitator | Executive Coach | Podcast Host
Sara supports leaders and teams by giving them the skillset and mindset to cultivate self-trust while advancing their thought leadership and communication confidence.
Sara was an opening keynote for our event, WE Ignite, for two years in a row. Both years, she beautifully and powerfully kicked off our multi-day event, by inspiring attendees with vulnerable stories, a decent dose of humor and impactful takeaways. We can always count on Sara as a keynote speaker who will light up the room and lift up the crowd.
Erin Long
WE Ignite Founder & Event Organizer
Signature Keynotes
Seeking Self Trust: Why Women Lose It & How to Get It Back
Numerous studies show that women consistently underestimate our performance and ability. And due to our cultural conditioning, we often feel like frauds and imposters and fail to use our voices and stand in our power. In this presentation, attendees will discover how to deepen their connection to their intuition, trust their inner and outer voice, and step into their leadership power so they can advocate for themselves, their teams, and their clients.
Shed Your Secret Lies: How to Turn Your Struggles Into Strengths
We are all liars. Inside each of us exists a treasure trove of secret lies. These lies are based on our lived experiences and the stories we tell ourselves about those experiences. These stories lead to self doubt, negative self talk, loneliness, isolation, depression and anxiety. By recognizing our secret lies, we can reframe them and release them in order to turn them into strengths that massively shift our identity and impact in the world.
In this presentation, Sara will help attendees see how their secret lies can be used as a tool for connection rather than isolation. From there, Sara will help attendees reframe their secret lies in order to rewrite new endings to the stories that are holding them back. Attendees will leave feeling empowered to step into their stories in a truly authentic way, from a position of newfound power, and ready to have a profound impact on the world.
Sara’s 2025 Trainings
Through a mix of coaching, training, role play, and small and full group conversation, she helps participants elevate their EQ, learn how to foster more trust and psychological safety in the workplace, and develop the mindset, skill set, and habits to boost their communication confidence so they can speak with power and impact and move people to take action whenever they speak.
Step into Your Moxie® is a trauma sensitive framework that centers and elevates marginalized voices and teaches participants how to do the same.
Step into Your Moxie® Speak Up & Influence
In Step into Your Moxie® Speak Up and Influence, participants will strengthen their inner and outer voice so that they can better speak up for themselves and the ideas and issues that matter most to your company. Through a mix of coaching, training, role play, and small and full group conversation, participants will begin to develop the mindset, skill set, and habits to boost their communication confidence so they can speak with more power and impact and move people to take action whenever they speak.
By the end of this experience, participants will be able to:
- Reframe diminishing self-talk so that it supports rather than undermines communication confidence
- Play nicely with feelings that come up when presenting ideas and navigating uncomfortable situations
- Minimize vocalized thinking and amplify their speaking presence to increase credibility, likeability, and trust
- Call people to take action on ideas in low and high stakes speaking situations (i.e., team meetings, project pitches, or presentations)
Daring Conversations for Building Team Trust
For most people, navigating conversations where there is the possibility of disagreement or conflict is uncomfortable. And yet, shifting conversations from difficult to daring is one of the most important skills an employee/entrepreneur can possess. Employees/entrepreneurs who make a habit of facilitating daring conversations create and sustain better relationships, engender more trust, are better able to manage stress, and prevent resentment and burnout. In this half-day Step into Your Moxie® workshop, participants will develop the self-awareness and tools to avoid staying silent, ruminating, or winging high-stakes conversations.
By the end of this experience, participants will be able to:
- Hold space for uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, and sensations that arise during daring conversations
- Create psychological safety for daring conversations to be successful
- Show up to daring conversations ready to speak up and listen
- Use role play as a tool to prepare for future daring conversations
Inspire Innovation: Creative Problem Solving to Develop Cohesive Teams
Through a mix of improv-inspired, experiential activities, in this playful, fully interactive half-day Step into Your Moxie® experience, participants unlock creativity, learn how to quickly generate new ideas, and develop team comradery. Through activities that seamlessly build from low to increasingly higher exposure, participants increase their communication confidence, collaborate quickly, devise solutions to problems, and develop key improv habits such as “Yes…And” and “Make Your Partner Look Good.”
By the end of this experience, participants will be able to:
- Collaborate with team members and colleagues to identify creative ideas to real-world constraints
- Use rapid-fire prototyping to generate solutions to existing problems
- Pitch ideas with confidence, clarity, and call people to take action
- Explore relevant opportunities to bring improv practices and mindsets into the workplace
Communicate with Credibility: Refining the Art of Ethical Persuasive Communication
Through a mix of experiential activities, practical training, role play, and self-reflection, in this half-day Step into Your Moxie® workshop, participants cultivate the confidence, strategy, and communication skills to be dynamic persuasive communicators. They develop the ability to manage fear and self-defeating thoughts connected to persuasive communication, and they learn how to address impromptu challenges by staying flexible, listener-centered, and on message.
By the end of this experience, participants will be able to:
- Use words, phrases, and gestures that heighten persuasiveness
- Engage in self-talk that supports moving people to take action
- Discover an archetype to make heart-centered, high-impact communication a habit
- Overcome people’s resistance to taking action by speaking to their pain points and personal motivators
Step into Your Moxie® Speak Up & Influence for Women
In this Step into Your Moxie® Speak Up & Influence training designed specifically for women, participants will learn to cultivate both their inner and outer voice to advocate for themselves and champion the ideas and causes they care most about. Women often face unique challenges when it comes to speaking up and being heard—whether in the workplace, in leadership, or in everyday situations—making it vital to practice and develop communication skills that amplify their power and impact. Through a blend of coaching, training, role play, and interactive discussions, participants will hone the mindset, skill set, and habits necessary to boost their communication confidence. This training will empower women to speak with authority, move people to action, and make their voices indispensable, whether they’re negotiating, presenting, or advocating for change. Participants will walk away ready to navigate high-stakes conversations and leverage their influence in ways that align with their authentic selves and values.
By the end of this experience, participants will be able to:
- Reframe diminishing self-talk so that it supports rather than undermines communication confidence
- Play nicely with feelings that come up when presenting ideas and navigating uncomfortable situations
- Minimize vocalized thinking and amplify their speaking presence to increase credibility, likeability, and trust
- Call people to take action on ideas in low and high stakes speaking situations (i.e., team meetings, project pitches, or presentations)
Lead and Leverage Daring Conversations
For many women, navigating conversations where disagreement or conflict might arise can feel particularly challenging, often due to societal conditioning around people-pleasing, over-accommodating, or avoiding confrontation. Yet, transforming these conversations from difficult to daring is essential for women in leadership. Women who regularly engage in daring conversations are able to foster stronger relationships, build greater self-trust, and handle stress more effectively, preventing burnout and self-sacrifice. In this half-day Step into Your Moxie® workshop, women will develop self-awareness and actionable tools to stop staying silent, overthinking, or simply “winging it” when faced with high-stakes conversations. Through a supportive and empowering environment, participants will learn how to confidently navigate conversations that matter, advocate for themselves and others, and ultimately show up more powerfully in both personal and professional spaces.
By the end of this experience, participants will be able to:
- Hold space for uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, and sensations that arise during daring conversations
- Create psychological safety for daring conversations to be successful
- Show up to daring conversations ready to speak up and listen
- Use role play as a tool to prepare for future daring conversations
Speak Up, Stand Out: Developing Your Thought Leadership and Communication Confidence
In this half-day training, women will examine their relationship with self-trust and their intuition, exploring how these inner resources can powerfully influence their communication and thought leadership. Women often face unique challenges around self-doubt, societal expectations, and imposter syndrome, which can make it harder to fully own their voices and ideas. This training is designed to help participants overcome these barriers and step into their leadership with greater confidence and clarity. Through a blend of self-reflective exercises, small group activities, and collaborative discussions, participants will learn new ways to communicate with confidence, curiosity, and compassion—skills that are essential for amplifying their leadership and positioning themselves as trusted thought leaders. Attendees will leave with practical tools and strategies to amplify their voices, project confidence in any setting, and use their unique perspectives to stand out as leaders in their organizations and industries.
By the end of this experience, participants will be able to:
- Own and honor their strengths and talents that qualify them to show up with greater confidence as team members and leaders
- Reframe their relationship with their inner critic in order to amplify their own inner coach
- Identify their communication archetype that allows them to stand up for themselves, advocate for others, and bring their best ideas to life
- Embrace “Moments of Moxie” as a form of ongoing self-empowerment
Take Care of You: How to Build Better Boundaries at Work and Beyond
This half-day training is designed to help women cultivate the essential skills of setting and maintaining personal and professional boundaries—skills that are often compromised due to societal pressures, internalized expectations, and the ongoing challenge of balancing multiple roles. By learning how to manage their inner critic, build better boundaries, and become better self-advocates, participants will be able to reclaim their time, energy, and well-being. Through a mix of self-reflective exercises, group discussions, and practical role-playing activities to strengthen their boundary-setting and self-advocacy skills, participants will leave with the confidence to set boundaries, overcome self-doubt, and prioritize their own needs.
By the end of this experience, participants will be able to:
- Create an easy to implement daily self-care plan
- Set clear and consistent personal and professional boundaries
- Reframe their relationship with their inner critic in order to amplify their own inner coach
- Be a strong self-advocate in tricky conversations
RETREATS & OFF-SITES
Sara is available to host a variety of 1-3 day retreat and offsite experiences.
Retreats and off-sites provide an opportunity for people to engage in self-reflection and skill-building that increases self-awareness—a critical component of emotional intelligence (EQ). Korn Ferry Hay Group research found that among leaders with high Emotional Intelligence (EQ), 92% had teams with high energy and high performance. In sharp contrast, leaders with a low EQ created negative climates 78% of the time, negatively impacting team energy, productivity, and performance. The immersive nature of retreats and off-sites allows for significant personal growth, transformation, and relationship building in a very short amount of time.
Leaders and teams that engage in retreat experiences report:
Improved communication and collaboration
Amplified confidence in roles and relationships
Stronger sense of team culture and belonging
Enhanced strategic thinking and decision-making
Increased trust, psychological safety, and engagement
Boosted morale that directly impacts employee retention
Heightened creativity and innovative thinking
Increased motivation to serve their organizations
Influence & Ignite: Be the Leader Your People Have Been Waiting For
It is often only in stepping away from day-to-day work and life distractions, that leaders can get quiet enough to focus on how to thoughtfully and intentionally build a leadership legacy and personal leadership brand around their ability to lead in ways that amplify their gifts, while also inviting others in to shine theirs. In this one-day or two-day retreat experience, leaders have the opportunity to reconnect to their leadership intuition, gain clarity on what matters most to them as a leader, and learn new skill sets and mindsets to shift how they show up for their work and engage those they lead in deeply powerful and impactful ways.
By the end of this retreat experience, leaders will be able to:
- Rebuild their relationship with self-trust in order to lean into their intuition more consistently
- Identify the core values that guide their personal leadership brand
- Stand in their greatest gifts and talents with ease and self-assuredness
- Cultivate a confident and commanding presence that calls people in
- Use new tools to navigate challenging conversations with grace and tact
- Inspire those they lead to stand up for themselves, their gifts, and their ideas
Customized Retreat or Off-Site Experience
For a customized experience, Sara works with leaders or event managers to create and deliver a one-day or two-day agenda based on the current goals and needs of the team. Here are some of the themes commonly centered for these experiences:
- Building Trust as a Team
- Thought Leadership and Executive Presence
- Communication Confidence
- Self-trust and Core Values
- Building a Personal Leadership brand
- Daring conversations
- Creating and Upholding Psychological Safety
- The Art of Storytelling in Sales
- The Art of Storytelling in Leadership
- Persuasive Communication
- Creativity & Innovation
- Resilient leadership
- Self-Care, Boundaries and Well-Being
Over the last 2 years, Sara has led various in-person and virtual trainings for our Resilient Leadership program. She tackles tough subjects with openness and sensitivity, allowing attendees to tap into their own vulnerabilities in safe ways. Sara’s facilitation skills are top-notch, creating a welcoming and trusting environment for people to engage in low and high-stakes conversations. Our employees consistently rate Sara’s sessions with top scores in post-event surveys
Jana LaFreniere
Manager of Organizational Excellence & Workforce Development
Speaking Highlights
Media Kit
Work with Sara
As a longtime resident, Sara regularly speaks in and around Seattle.
If you or your organization are interested in working with Sara for a signature keynote, training or workshop series, let’s connect.